GF Jalapeño & Cheddar Bread – Version 1

Ever make a boo-boo in the kitchen that you devoured and didn’t even realize it was a “boo boo” until you were cleaning up? Well, that’s what I did today. I have been wanting some jalapeño and cheddar bread lately, but I haven’t played around much with the flour combinations I wanted to try. Thus my boo-boo. I was thinking about texture and not about gluten-free cooking science. (No worries, we ate it without notice!)

Wahoo! Maybe I lucked out? Maybe it’s getting easier. I’m not sure. But I decided to share this recipe anyway. I *will* be making it again and again. And next time, just for kicks, I’ll make it with the things I omitted by mistake this time.

What did I forget? Well, let’s start with the obvious – xanthan gum. Yep. This bread lacks the xanthan gum that I should have put in (2 teaspoons, I think). All of my other bread recipes have baking powder or soda (or both) and cider vinegar. These ingredients were not part of my original recipe (from 15 years ago) so I didn’t think about them when I was thinking about the last time I ate this bread.

It was a wonderful morning – and the bread made the most incredible “egg-in-a-hole” breakfast (thanks to sister 2 for that title). It is crunchy with a teeny bit of heat and some awesome cheese qualities. I can still feel the crunch in my mouth while I ate it. Mmm. Definitely worth recreating. In fact, I think I’ll make another one this week. Oh yea. It screams “Ham Sandwich” to me. 🙂

I hope you’ll enjoy this as well. I’m writing the recipe just as I made it today. Any other versions that follow, I will update with another post. I hope this works for you as well (and that it wasn’t just a freaky-fluke for me.) I’m sorry I can’t tell you how long it will last or what it’s like in the morning. The loaf I made today is nearly gone and my husband (who avoids gluten-free breads when he can) has vowed to devour the remaining pieces with dinner. LOL  (Please note the photo with his eager hands tearing apart the still warm bread – best way to eat it, in our humble opinions.)

Beyond the change of ingredients, I decided to try baking the bread a la the “no knead” bread method (in a dutch oven). This gave the bread an awesome crunchy crust (on the bottom) and I’m certain that is what attracts my love to the bread. You can read about this baking method at Shauna’s site where she talks about a version of the “no-knead” bread that everyone was raving about last year.

Jalapeño and Cheddar Bread – Version 1
Ingredients:
1 1/2 Tablespoons of yeast
1 Tablespoon of sugar
3/4 cup warm water
1 1/2 cups sorghum flour
1 1/2 cups superfine rice flour
1/2 cup sweet rice flour
1/2 cup tapioca flour
1/2 cup potato starch
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 Tablespoon sugar
3 medium jalapeños, seeded and diced
1 cup warm milk
2 eggs
8 ounces organic cheddar cheese, cubed into 1/4 inch cubes

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 200F
2. Proof yeast together with warm water and 1 Tablespoon sugar.
3. While the yeast is proofing, mix together dry ingredients (sorghum flour, rice flour, sweet rice flour, tapioca starch, potato starch, salt and sugar).
4. Add eggs, proofed yeast mixture, warm milk and jalapeños and mix until just combined -but don’t over mix.
5. Add cubed cheese and mix again until evenly distributed.
6. Shut off the oven.
7. Lightly butter the bottom and sides (up at least 3 inches) of a cast iron dutch oven.
8. Gently form a round loaf with a rubber spatula and your hands. Put this into the center of the buttered pan.
9. Cover and put into the oven for 45 minutes. The bread will spread and rise a bit (maybe more if I had included xanthan gum).
10. After rising time, leave the pan in the oven and turn the oven back up. Heat the oven to 375F. Bake the bread (covered) for 25 minutes.
11. Then remove the lid and bake for an additional 10 minutes.
12. Remove from the oven and loosen from the sides with a spatula. Brush the top with melted butter.
13. Once it has cooled for 10 minutes, remove the loaf from the pan and place on a cutting board. (If anything breaks off at this point, munch!)
14. Slice into long slices and then half those slices for sandwiches or munching!

Enjoy!
-Kate

Updated: Tonight for dinner we made egg sandwiches (toasted/grilled) with this bread. I think after it sat for a while, it was definitely a bit dry. However, grilled it was PERFECT again. Yum! If you all play around with this one, please let me know too!